Safe to buy a TDI?

Raezo

Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2018
Location
Ohio
TDI
None yet
Hello all,

New forum member here, have lurked for a few years now when considering a TDI for my daily driver. I'm finally in the position to get one and I'm considering one of these buybacks from VW America.

Two that I'm currently looking at are in different states than I live (I'm near Cleveland , OH) just because there aren't many manual transmissions for sell. One is a 2012 with 66k miles and one is a 2014 with 80k miles. Both are pretty much loaded with leather, fender sound and such. The first question is how do I consider a fair price for one of these? Are the NADA/KBB values accurate with the buyback and all?

Second question is with the extended warranty. I drive around 28k miles a year. What if I were to go outside of the extended warranty before all the stages of the fix are complete (I assume the EPA will have a timeline for this but when I spoke to a dealer, they said that the warranty is from the original purchase date of the vehicle)? Also, is there an extended warranty worth looking at for general coverage?

Thirdly, are there any other concerns or considerations I should have when moving into a vehicle like this?

Thank you for any advice and I hope to be a member of the club real soon.

Ryan
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
Sounds like the dealer you talked to was clueless. Fixed TDIs have an 11 year/162K mile warranty or a 4 year/48K mile warranty, whichever is greater, on the emissions system, which also includes the turbo and most of the fuel system. And CPO VWs from dealers also have a 2 year/unlimited mileage warranty. Check on that one, as I don't think it applies to all vehicles.

Bought back TDIs are totally safe for purchase. However, I wouldn't buy one sight unseen, since you'll want to check for evidence of poor treatment by the previous owner or damage suffered during storage. Previously unsold 2015 cars got new batteries, brakes, wipers, and tires (some at the dealer's option) before sale, so check these items on the bought back car. If it sat for more than six months it'll probably need a battery and perhaps brakes, at a minimum.

Otherwise these are great cars and could be our last chance to get a new(ish) TDI. My vote is to hold out for a manual. They're rare, but they'll hold their value better and are a better drive, IMHO.
 

Motodude

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2017
Location
San diego
TDI
2011 q7tdi. 2012 q7tdi
If my buybacks are being sold, I feel sorry for whoever gets it. When I found out, I didnt even change the oil for 45,000 miles if thats gives you any idea. And I drove it like i was qualfying for the indy 500.
 

Lightflyer1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 13, 2005
Location
Round Rock, Texas
TDI
2015 Beetle tdi dsg
I don't know about clueless. The 11 year/162k warranty is from the original in service date. The 4 year/48k mile is from the part two fix date which ever is greater. You would have at least 3 years warranty on the 11 year at your stated mileage and if you got the part two fix done as late as possible another four years after that. Your strategy should be to use as much of the 11 year/162k as possible and then get part two done and get another 4 years/48k miles. Other extended warranties are generally just money makers for the companies/people that sell them.
 

Raezo

Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2018
Location
Ohio
TDI
None yet
So far, the sales manager for the 2014 with 80k miles in GA emailed me back and said they did front and rear pads and rotors. Both of these cars are listed at almost 14k
 

Raezo

Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2018
Location
Ohio
TDI
None yet
Another question if anyone can. A 2015 tdi was traded in at a local Toyota dealer. Says it was modified on July 6, 2017. Miles are still close to the mileage listed on vwdiesellookup. Also says partial for modification completed. I don't see why it would make a difference from one that was bought back but should I stray from one the owner kept and initiated the fix?
 

JCG57

Active member
Joined
Jul 28, 2016
Location
Kansas
TDI
'09 Jetta
I have thought about buying a 2015 Passat TDI later this year when I deliver my 2014 Jetta TDI to VW for the buyback, but just don't see the diesel value proposition anymore so will move on to something newer. If you do buy a used TDI you should make sure you see the service records because a lot of angry (or frugal) former TDI owners rode 'em hard and put 'em up wet, so to speak.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
Doesn't matter if the fix was done when the car was owned by VW (or a dealer) or an individual. Same tasks were performed regardless.
 

bizzle

Veteran Member
Joined
May 21, 2013
Location
Southern California
TDI
2015 GSW SEL (totaled), 2013 Touareg Executive
Another question if anyone can. A 2015 tdi was traded in at a local Toyota dealer. Says it was modified on July 6, 2017. Miles are still close to the mileage listed on vwdiesellookup. Also says partial for modification completed. I don't see why it would make a difference from one that was bought back but should I stray from one the owner kept and initiated the fix?
This one is likely eligible for you to claim the payment after the 2nd phase of the fix. Bought back TDIs are coming up ineligible so weigh that extra $2K into your purchase decision.
 

tadawson

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 14, 2013
Location
Lewisville, TX
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SEL, 2015 Passat TDI SEL
That, and if the guy kept and fixed it, it would tend to make me think it was less likely to have been abused, based on some of the buyback car stories that have been posted.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
This one is likely eligible for you to claim the payment after the 2nd phase of the fix. Bought back TDIs are coming up ineligible so weigh that extra $2K into your purchase decision.
Key word here is "likely". Not sure how you'd verify eligibility prior to purchase.
 

bizzle

Veteran Member
Joined
May 21, 2013
Location
Southern California
TDI
2015 GSW SEL (totaled), 2013 Touareg Executive
Key word here is "likely". Not sure how you'd verify eligibility prior to purchase.
So far, based on the reports, buyback cars show eligible on the portal but VW deems them ineligible. I'm not sure if we've seen anyone report eligibility or ineligibility for 2nd hand purchases, but they should be good to go based on what we know (or think we know :D). There isn't any way to verify eligibility pre-purchase, though, just basing my opinion on patterns.
 

makattack

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 21, 2015
Location
Boston, MA
TDI
2015 VW Golf Sportwagen TDI/S/Manual
FWIW, I have a 2015 GSW S/6MT lease that's coming up for termination. I'm thinking of actually buying it outright because the residual on it was lower than current retail estimates for it...
 

makattack

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 21, 2015
Location
Boston, MA
TDI
2015 VW Golf Sportwagen TDI/S/Manual
Good luck with that as others are already posting issues with trying to do that themselves.
If you're referring to my plan to buyout my lease at the end of it, in a few months, I don't see anything in my "leasee fix" documentation / agreement about not being about to buyout the car. I even got an email from the dealer saying that they'll be scheduling/contacting me in the near future:

To facilitate your decision-making, we offer our customers a complimentary lease analysis. What is a lease analysis? Simply put, it is a review of your various options based on the homework we will do prior to our meeting (i.e., finance company information, current market conditions, vehicle value, current new vehicle availability and purchase options, etc.). I will contact you shortly to discuss these options and to schedule a time convenient to you to take advantage of your free lease analysis.
Everything else in the forums I see relating to leasing issues relates to making a "fix or buyback" claim after or before a buyout.

This vehicle I'm referring to has already had the software fix (part 1) applied and is waiting for an approved phase 2 fix (who knows when / if that will ever come to be.)

Here's my chat log with the claims service people:

David @ 2/26/18 3:33 PM :
==> This is a leased vehicle, and my lease is coming up for termination in a few months. How does this affect my claim?

David @ 2/26/18 3:34 PM :
==> I have already applied the Phase1 fix, and am still awating the phase2 fix to be approved and applied.

Francesca @ 2/26/18 3:35 PM :
==> I will be happy to review your claim and see what we will need to do for your claim once your lease ends. Could I place you on a 2-3 minute hold to review your claim and gather information?

David @ 2/26/18 3:35 PM :
==> Certainly, I'm also interested in buying out the vehicle at the end of the lease.

Francesca @ 2/26/18 3:39 PM :
==> Thank you for holding. If you purchase the vehicle you will only need to have the modification completed once it is available. If the lease ends and you do not purchase the vehicle, we will trigger the payment to you. At this time I do not have a timeframe available as we are still working through a process for leased vehicles that come to an end.

David @ 2/26/18 3:39 PM :
==> Ok, very good. That answers my questions, so thank you very much!
 
Last edited:

Lightflyer1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 13, 2005
Location
Round Rock, Texas
TDI
2015 Beetle tdi dsg
You made no mention of whether you were buying back for resale to VW or to keep it and get the 2nd part fix done. Sounds like the latter and you are good to go for that. Others have tried a get around by buying the lease out and then using a third party to sell back to VW, which is circumventing the settlement agreement. They have been pushing back on those who are trying this but it doesn't sound like that was your plan to start with.
 

Raezo

Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2018
Location
Ohio
TDI
None yet
When looking at vehicles on Vwdiesellookup, many of them. Say yes,yes,yes,yes and others will say yes,yes,partisl,yes and the partial is in regards to the fix. It even has an exact mileage listed below in the text. Any input on what this means or what I would have to do if I purchased one like this?

I'm looking to purchase a vehicle in the next week or two, go get it the week of St. Patricks day and hopefully post a picture of joining the club:)
 

Lightflyer1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 13, 2005
Location
Round Rock, Texas
TDI
2015 Beetle tdi dsg
Did you stay at a Holiday Inn last night? Do you feel lucky? Don't believe anything on that site for hard facts if it is eligible or not. At this point it is a gamble as to whether anything is really eligible at this point. Unless you are an original owner. If you want to buy one do so without regard to any money coming back your way. If it happens then be extra happy!
 

Raezo

Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2018
Location
Ohio
TDI
None yet
I wasn't thinking I would get any money back out of this. I am just wanting to be sure the vehicle has the extended warranty and the EPA isn't going to tell me I can't drive the vehicle I buy or something silly like that haha
 

tadawson

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 14, 2013
Location
Lewisville, TX
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SEL, 2015 Passat TDI SEL
Well, the EPA can't tell you that no matter what, so one of two is a certainty . . .

And if it is fixed, it has the warranty. If it isn't, you can get it done and still have the warranty.

About the only grey area is the $$$.

Methinks you are overthinking this . . . .
 

bizzle

Veteran Member
Joined
May 21, 2013
Location
Southern California
TDI
2015 GSW SEL (totaled), 2013 Touareg Executive
I wasn't thinking I would get any money back out of this. I am just wanting to be sure the vehicle has the extended warranty and the EPA isn't going to tell me I can't drive the vehicle I buy or something silly like that haha
They'll have the extended warranty as long as phase1 fix was done and will continue to receive the warranty as long as phase2 fix is done when it's available. The EPA won't tell you that you can't drive the car even if you don't do the fix, but you will lose warranty coverage.
 

Raezo

Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2018
Location
Ohio
TDI
None yet
I likely am over thinking this, thanks for the clarification!

I put a deposit on a golf in Utah. A little alarming, they said they sent it to VW as soon as they got it due to it sounding "bogged down" when they started it(dealer claimed bad gas). When they get it back they are going to clean it up and send me detailed pictures before I commit.

Hopefully the previous owner used diesel and not e85. It has just under 12k miles, I'm banking that too much can't be wrong.

Thank you all again for all the insight
 

Raezo

Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2018
Location
Ohio
TDI
None yet
I was just joking about that haha... I'll have them send me aa video of it running when they send pictures.
 

Etoile

Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2018
Location
NY
TDI
2009 Sportwagen no longer 2011 Jetta Sportwagen 2015 TDI Golf Sportwagen all manual
Phase two Modification Approval Question

This vehicle I'm referring to has already had the software fix (part 1) applied and is waiting for an approved phase 2 fix (who knows when / if that will ever come to be.)
I was given two answers by VW TDI buyback 800# re: Phase 2 modification -
First one said they are waiting for approval by May 1, 2018.
Second one said that it was approved on January 6, 2018.
This second response is in contradiction to what you were told also. Dealer is saying has been approved.
What is the correct answer?
 

1.8

Active member
Joined
Mar 6, 2018
Location
not in the right place
TDI
tdi less
We had three in the early 2000's, one sedan/two wagons and got the bug again when we started seeing dealers selling the program vehicles. But after -not- getting information from dealers we have decided it isn't wise to purchase a TDI.

Specifically we had concerns about what kind of vehicle we would have after the second required repair/modification and I asked two dealers-one of whom was acknowledged to be the area guru on the TDI program- basically this question: what does the second phase involve and what recourse would we have if this second modification changes the vehicle in a negative way.

The first dealer was honest and stated that they had no idea, no one had asked the question before the guru didn't know an awful lot more than that everything was on the table for the second repair. I inquired as to if the cars now had start/stop and was told no, I then asked if this might be added during the modification and was told that yes it might and again that -everything- is on the table.

When I asked what recourse, if any, someone would have from VW if the car ends up being night/day different from the one they purchased I was told that VW would be contacted and I would be getting a call in the very near future.

Of course that never happened.

VW is going to have to find someone else who is willing to roll the dice on a Touareg for just under 30k USD or for that matter any program TDI.
 
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